It was a rough week for the WAC, but Nevada quarterback Colin Kaepernick had a nice day in a loss to Texas Tech. He was 24 of 35 for 264 yards with a touchdown and interception and added 92 rushing yards for the Wolf Pack.

INDEPENDENTS

Free safety David Bruton saved Notre Dame from embarrassment by forcing and recovering a San Diego State fumble as the Aztecs were driving for a touchdown. He had seven solo tackles, too.

Could it be anyone else?

Hudson did what almost no one else has been able to do: bottle up West Virginia's offense. The Mountaineers didn't score a touchdown for the first time since 2001, Rich Rodriguez's first season.

East Carolina's defense wasn't fooled by West Virginia's tweaked offense. The Mountaineers passed for only 72 yards and rushed for 179. East Carolina bottled up quarterback Pat White, who had only 169 yards of total offense.

Others considered for coordinator of the week:
Bruce Fowler, Vanderbilt: Steve Spurrier doesn't have an offensive powerhouse at South Carolina, but the Commodores still had an impressive performance. Vanderbilt held the Gamecocks to 92 rushing yards and intercepted two passes.

Galen Hall, Penn State: There was no let-up on offense against Oregon State. The Nittany Lions scored on five of their first six possessions in routing the Beavers.

Rich Olson, Arizona State: The Sun Devils avoided the upset against Stanford with a convincing offensive performance. Arizona State put up 472 total yards, including 345 through the air, against the Cardinal.

It looks as if Oklahoma has another star redshirt freshman on its hands. A year after Bradford was a freshman All-America quarterback, Ryan Broyles is giving the Sooners another threat in the passing game. Against Cincinnati, Broyles caught seven passes for 141 yards and a touchdown.

Others considered for freshman of the weekLB Travis Lewis, Oklahoma: Another Sooners redshirt freshman had a huge day on defense, with 12 tackles and two sacks.

RB Jacquizz Rodgers, Oregon State: Anyone who practices against the Beavers' run defense should have a ton of confidence. Rodgers, a true freshman, had 99 yards and two touchdowns against Penn State.